Importing roof slates from China

ainesiobhan

Our thatch is too expensive to maintain so we're re-roofing the house with the most aesthetically pleasing material we could find....slates from China. Has anyone had any experience importing goods from China? Couriers you used? Do's and Don'ts? Any help or advice appreciated!

foggy_lad

ainesiobhan wrote: »

Our thatch is too expensive to maintain so we're re-roofing the house with the most aesthetically pleasing material we could find....slates from China. Has anyone had any experience importing goods from China? Couriers you used? Do's and Don'ts? Any help or advice appreciated!

have you checked out the planning implications first? you may not be allowed change from a thatched roof to a slate or tiled roof. You should look into whether you need planning permission for the change and you will most likely need a sample of the intended replacement slates along with drawings and possibly artists impression of the finished project.

dudara

Moved to Construction & Planning

Rather than buying slates from China, would you not consider buying Irish slate?

dudara

Eoghan Barra

I have heard that Chinese slate isn't very good quality, though I can't speak with any authority on this as I have no direct experience. It may seem odd to say that slate from one part of the world is better than another, but that will probably depend as much on how it's processed and graded as geology and composition.

I would say this however: the slates are actually only a minor part of the expense of covering a roof, especially if you're paying a roofer to do it. There's a crazy amount of work in felting, battening, and then slating the roof, which involves cutting many of them and carrying them all up onto the roof, as well as fixing them, before fixing the ridges.

If done right, you'll be using non-corroding nails (stainless steel, copper or aluminium), possibly hooks depending on your location, as well as all sorts of trims and lead for valleys etc, all of which costs A LOT.

If you use crappy slates to save a couple of grand, it may well be a massive false economy, as if you're going to all that expense and hassle you'll want the roof to last.

That is not at all to say you need to use the most expensive slates going, just that you should be very careful of what seem to be very cheap slates (salvaged slates too). Personally I'd be looking at new Spanish slate, which can be v. good value.

kahler

is it an old or new thatched house? if it is old, there is agood chance that it is a protected structure. which means you will have to maintain it as a thatched building. kinda saves you worrying about chinese slate but prob not what you wanted to hear. maybe try a cheaper thatcher...